February Monthly Favourites ft. KATE, Bare Minerals and Kiko!

Once January is over, and February kicks in, it’s like the time goes even faster but really it’s just a shorter month! What’s the temperature and weather like, where you are? It’s still really cold here so I can’t see ‘Spring’ come any time soon but one can dream, right?

Here is a round-up of all the products that I have been really enjoying in the last 28 days or so! Enjo!y

The palette colours are not shown accurately in this photo. In real life, the main base colour is more of a medium brown. The packaging is very sleek and comes with a handy mirror and a mini double-ended brush that does a decent job.

Don’t disregard a product until you’ve practiced your skills!: There was a time when I was not very good at drawing or filling in eyebrows. Pencil or brow pomade – I was quite terrible! I had purchased KATE Designing Eyebrow N #EX4 in Hong Kong, but I wasn’t very good at using it and that was solely my problem. Recently, I whipped it back out again and I’m so glad that I did because it’s very natural and easy to work with (if you use your brush right). The design of the packaging and added mirror gets top marks in my book too!

Why don’t I use this product more often?!: I feel that I change my foundation every month according to how I feel but also what coverage I want. My skin has been really nice lately (not to blow my own trumpet…) so I want to be as natural as possible. I started using Bare Minerals Matte SPF15 Foundation in ‘Fairly Light’again. It’s just so natural and weightless on the skin! The oil control is not bad either. The only drawback is it takes time to buff into your skin compared to a liquid foundation…which isn’t a drawback really because good makeup needs time!

The product that evens out your skin tone before your foundation decides to: I go through phases where I use primer or don’t use primer. I’m still a little on-the-fence about them but I think as a combination/oily girl, I really do need them in my life. The Kiko Skintone Corrector Primer has been a new favourite though not newly bought as I’ve had this for almost half a year. It’s a beautiful, peachy base that covers my ever-so-light redness and gives a lit-from-within glow too (without being oily of course)! Recommend.

A re-discovery of a product that was always good: Back to eyebrows again! I’ve been going back to a lot of products this month and Soap and Glory’s Archery Brow Pencil in ‘Brownie Points’is no exception. Really easy to use and beginner-friendly too (it was the brow pencil that I found easiest to practice with!).

The one brush I take everywhere with me: I wish they sold this brush separately so that I could buy another one as spare! I am talking about the Real Techniques Contour Brush. It’s probably my favourite brush ever. I don’t contour so I don’t use it as such, but it can definitely work with contour/blush/highlight precisely. I use this to set my under-eye concealer or to powder my T-zone when I’m out-and-about. It’s the perfect size and perfect shape to go around the contours of your face! Plus this very easily fits inside a makeup bag. Winning.

The colours are rather off in this photo but let’s focus on the texture, shall we? It’s nothing that I’ve seen before in other lip balms. Made up of honey, beeswax, almond oil and shea butter just to name a few, the balm isn’t one to ‘just sit’ on your lips. It actually works! Skin food for your lips~

The Queen Bee of lip balms (no pun intended): LUSH is getting more expensive isn’t it? I don’t go in there too often nowadays because it’s hard to only ‘window-shop’! So I only go in when I genuinely want to spend some £££. I was looking for a new lip balm which brought me to LUSH. I picked Honey Trap as it appeared to be the less-invasive scent and it was a good choice! It’s a mildly-sweet honey flavour that despite being a tinned lip balm, is not messy to work with and doesn’t have that overly-glossy look. The ‘shine’ is much more natural-looking. I do warn you though – this stuff is £6.75 ** but a teeny bit goes a long way. I’m looking to do a review on this.

** I’m so sure that I bought this at £6.50 about a month ago. I’m not keen on these price rises!

The one product that has really changed my skin: I like to think that I left the best for last. The Ordinary Niacinamide 10% + Zinc 1%has been my skincare hero in every way possible. I haven’t broken out – not even once – since using this in my everyday skincare routine. Not even when it’s that time of the month. It’s completely evened out my uneven skin tone and it’s just all-round balancing so I secrete less oil too. Honestly, everyone needs this in their life because I know I need more.

There are some really strong contenders in this post and by that, I mean they could be in the running for my super-favourites in 2017! 😉 I really cannot fault any of these products…what do you think? Have you tried any of them? Let me know in the comments below! ⬇️⬇️⬇️

The KATE brow palette looks similar to the Anna Sui one I have. It’s really versatile and you can create natural looking brows. Yes, with practice! 😉
Hmm I’ve noticed a lot of product prices on the rise lately especially at Sephora. I know this because I usually note down on my tracker / spreadsheet how much I pad for something and the date. They can’t pull a fast one on us!
You really have me curious about The Ordinary Niacinamide 10% + Zinc 1% – it’s so affordable too. I’ve been reading your reviews on their products with interest…

It’s so nice and portable! Especially for a sleek palette since pots of brow pomades aren’t exactly portable. I mean they are sort of but you won’t be seeing anyone touch up with it haha!

Ohh that’s so good! I have a rough idea of how much something costs so when I saw the LUSH product online, I was a bit taken aback. I already thought it was quite pricey for what it was, though yes I can’t fault the product.

You’re probably the 8th person or something who I have interested! XD I actually ordered more things and it came the other day, so I’ll be doing a haul post soon and I guess more reviews in months to come! The Ordinary will probably be the brand that’ll rob my money even though it’s so inexpensive…I just saw on someone’s Instagram story that they’re launching MORE new products.

I always look forward to writing monthly favourites and reading others’! I actually keep a little list in my organiser of what I’ve been loving haha! It also gives me a chance to change things up, use new products and re-discover old ones 🙂

Aw no! I’ll look forward to reading yours though when you eventually do do one!

Yes you’re right. There was traditionally only 2 shades – a brown and a blonde but it seems that they’ve added another shade of brown.

I have only used ‘Brownie Points’ and as someone with jet black hair, it’s definitely not the best colour match. On paper, it looks like a dark brown but on the skin, it swatches more like a light/medium brown. Despite this, I feel that I can just about get away with it when I want more of a soft look. Probably because my hairs are really dark and I generally have full brows for an East Asian person lol.